History on a Shirt
Aviation fine art print - DC-3 "Over Denver Municipal Airport"
The story:
The DC-3, which was probably the most successful airplane ever built, made air travel safer and more reliable. The military version of the aircraft was the C-47, which became WWII's standard American air transport. A famous quote describes the DC-3 as a collection of parts flying in loose formation, but actually the aircraft has the reputation of never having crashed due to structural failure. The DC-3 originally flew in 1935, and there are still DC-3s flying cargo today in some corners of the world.
The Douglas Aircraft Company, which developed the DC-3, was supposed to come up with a trimotor for security, but Douglas showed a twin engine could fly over the Rocky Mountains even with one engine out. In fact, the C-47 version of the airframe regularly flew over the Himalayas between India and China during WWII.
The background of the print is Denver Municipal Airport (which later became Stapleton International) shown as it appeared around 1930. The background represents the kind of airports this sleek modern airliner serviced in the 1930s.
The print:
Limited edition (50) print of original artwork by Ewan Tallentire. The style of art could be said to be a true caricature (not a cartoon) since the DC-3 is drawn with slight exaggeration to bring out its character. Ewan started with simple caricatures for t-shirts, but found himself putting more and more detail and background into them. Eventually he did a series of art prints turning the caricatures into serious aviation art.
Print details:
The printing is high quality on acid-free stock. Size is 8" x 10" with approximately 1/8" white border. Shipped flat with cardboard backing. The print does not come framed but is suitable for framing.